Slated right in between the Breck Epic and the Pro Cycling Challenge, Breck Bike Week has a welcoming, laid-back atmosphere perfect for families.

Breckenridge, Colorado is the most visited skiing destination in America, and in the last ten years, Breckenridge has also become one of the most popular summer cycling destinations thanks to its extensive network of singletrack trails and outstanding road riding. Whether your tire preference is on the knobby side or narrow and slick, “Breck” has a seemingly limitless amount of riding right from your front door.

As proof, Breckenridge was recently named a Gold-level Bicycle Friendly Community by the League of American Bicyclists thanks in part to its miles of paved bicycle routes connecting the communities of Breckenridge, Frisco, Dillon and Silverthorne.

In addition to popular events like the Firecracker 50 and the Breckenridge 100 mountain bike races, Breckenridge also hosted the fifth-annual Breck Epic – a grueling six-day mountain bike stage race showcasing world-class trails, with every stage beginning and ending in town.

The USA Pro Cycling Challenge passed through Breckenridge right after Breck Bike week.

Three days after the Breck Epic ended, the 2013 USA Pro Challenge rolled through Breckenridge, featuring the world’s finest professional cycling talent including Peter Sagan, Christopher Froome, Andy Schleck and American stars like Christian Vande Velde, Tom Danielson and Tejay Van Garderen.

Placed perfectly right in between both events was Breck Bike Week, a welcoming, non-competitive, laid-back community event celebrating the bicycle that’s geared specifically towards families and recreational riders of all skill and experience levels.

Running from Thursday to Sunday, all four days of Breck Bike Week were packed with fun activities including guided mountain bike and road rides, bike demos, kids rides and races, Strider races, a poker ride, women’s skills clinics, bike maintenance classes, parties, bike mechanic competitions, live music and an event expo with dozens of cycling apparel and gear brands. Breck Bike Week even raffled off valuable prizes like a brand new Cannondale Trigger 29er mountain bike.

This massive mountain bike made by TM Design Works out of Littleton, Colorado, was on display at Breck Bike Week.

During Breck Bike Week, everywhere you looked was dominated by the love for bicycles. The world’s largest mountain bike was in attendance this year as was the Breckenridge Bike Bus, a 12-seater bike bus that’s entirely pedal-powered by its passengers. A daily bicycle trials demonstration kept people in awe as riders from RipStoke showed off their acrobatic skill on the bike, jumping from boulder to boulder across the Blue River.

Left: Robbie Pfunder of RipStoke gets the crowd fired up with his river-hopping trials skills. Right: Not looking like a good hand…unless he three more threes hiding in his jersey pocket. Photo Credit: Byron Swezy CBST Adventures.

For those who like giving back, a Trails Maintenance Day taught volunteers all about proper trail design and building, maintenance and sustainable trail concepts. A fundraiser for the International Mountain Bicycling Association (IMBA) included a bike-in movie night complete with barbeque, live music and a movie, all on the beautifully manicured lawns of Carter Park.

History buffs enjoyed the scenic and informative guided ride with Breckenridge Mayor, John Warner and the Breckenridge Heritage Alliance, touring historic sites all over town via both paved and dirt cycling paths. Card sharks had fun with the Poker Ride that sent people on trails all over Breckenridge, collecting five cards and then meeting back in town to see who had the winning hand.

In Breck, you can park your call all week and ride or walk to everything.

Perhaps the greatest aspect of Breck Bike Week is the fact that once you arrive in Breckenridge, you can park your car and forget about it your entire stay. Everything you need in Breckenridge is within walking or riding distance from town.

Left: It’s hard not to love the endless miles of riding around Breckenridge. Right: There are many reasons to love Breckenridge.

Breck Bike Week just wrapped up its fifth anniversary, and next year it will surely be even bigger and better. Keep your calendar open during the second week of August 2014 and make a long family vacation to Breckenridge where riding bikes and having fun are the utmost priorities.

Photo Thumbnails (click to enlarge)

Kurt Gensheimer thinks the bicycle is man’s most perfect invention. He firmly believes ‘singlespeed’ is a compound word. He sometimes wears a disco ball helmet. He is also known as Genshammer. He is a Gemini and sleeps outside in a hammock.

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